Inside the Wargame

Invited experts

Deborah Haynes

Security and Defence Editor, Sky News

Professor Lucy Easthope

Co-founder, After Disaster Network

Dr Rob Johnson

Director of the Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology research centre, University of Oxford

Keir Giles

author and researcher on Russia

What happens when former ministers, top military chiefs, and security experts are thrown into a simulated crisis room to face the unthinkable: a Russian attack on the UK? Join us in the Observer newsroom for an exclusive behind-the-scenes event on The Wargame, the new podcast series from Sky News and Tortoise Media. Together, we'll lift the lid on how a cast of real-life political and military heavyweights - from Sir Ben Wallace (as prime minister), Jack Straw (foreign secretary), Amber Rudd (home secretary), to General Sir Richard Barrons (chief of the defence staff) - were thrust back into their old roles to confront a fictional Kremlin, revealing how decisions are made when the stakes couldn’t be higher. Join us as we unpack how the scenario was crafted, what it exposed about the UK’s resilience, and why now - amidst mounting geopolitical tensions, the UK’s Strategic Defence Review and a major NATO summit - these questions matter more than ever. Offering a rare glimpse into the minds of those who would lead Britain through its darkest hours, we'll ask: are we truly prepared for war?